Please help - Philips Bailiffs

astraea

Hi
i have a distress warrant for £225 for a fina i fell behind on.
i made an arrangement but then i lost my job, and fell behind with it.

I have been on the phone to them and they have informed me that they will be attending to force their way into my house with a locksmith or the police as it is a court fine and there is nothing i can do about it apart from pay in full.

I do not have the money, i was ringing them to make an arrangement as i have just got my benefits sorted out.

Please help me
they have increased the money owed to £445 as they said they came last week but no answer and they have charged £200 for this. even though they did not come here (they said it was 8am and i am always in at this time, and they also said that there are for sale boards outside my house which there are not).
they said they will come evry day and add £200 every visit.

please help me

fatbelly

You need to talk to Herbie21. Not sure she posts here any more but she runs this website:

http://www.bailiffadviceonline.co.uk/

UnderPressure

Hello

OK you are going to have to hang on for some of the more knowledgable people to confirm what I am going to say......................

As far as I am aware they will not be able to break into your property, the only people that have the "automatic" authority to do that wothout the whole thing being put back in front of a magistrate is HMRC certainly not fines however......

It is in your interest to contact the fines office at the court where this fin originates from and tell them your circumstances, some of the time they may well be prepared to help you out if persuaded enough and may even let you come to an agreement to pay a small amount weekly out of your benefits, the only people that can authorise this are the courts, you may even have to go and fill a few forms in and you may have to se a magistrate to get it set up, give them a ring let them know you are in a panic and on benefits and see wht they say.

Whatever you do, DO NOT bury your head in the sand and hop this will go away, you DO NOT have to let the bailiff's in you do not even have to talk to them so it may be best of they do show again to just ignore the door, Phillips are a private bailiff firm and can be a nightmare so speak to the fines office do it now the quicker the better.

If you get no joy come back here and let us know, as said this is only based on my own experience and understanding from readin this board you may want to hold on for a more knowledgable opinion from someone else

Hope that helps good luck

astraea

Hi
spoke to the court who said they cant help me. that they cannot take a fine back from a bailiff.
what are the rules cause the court said they can use a locksmith to break entry?

UnderPressure

fatbelly wrote: »

You need to talk to Herbie21. Not sure she posts here any more but she runs this website:

http://www.bailiffadviceonline.co.uk/

Yeah thats all well and good but their advice is not free, I would never reccomend a premium rate phone line to anyone and they also charge £10 to get access to any of the template letters I would leave that one alone personally, they do know their stuff but this kind of info nobody should be making you pay for especially on premium rate phone numbers :eek:

If you wish to speak to an organisation google the national debt line, they have FREEPHONE number and have fully qualified staff to offer you the best advice and point you in the right direction.

I am not knocking the above reccomended website but there are just as good FREE resources out there

UnderPressure

see post above ring national debt line

fatbelly

If you can pm Herbie21 she can give you free access, I think.

UnderPressure

The forced access does seem to be correct:

What bailiffs can and can't do

If the bailiffs come to your home, you don't have to let them in. They can't force their way in, but they can enter through an open window or an unlocked door.
Forced entry includes pushing past you once you have opened the door to them, or leaving their foot in the door to prevent you closing it. Such action would make the whole process illegal.
Bailiffs recovering unpaid magistrates' court fines, however, do have the power to force entry, but this is always a last resort.
Bailiffs trying to recover money you owe to HMRC are allowed to break into your home, providing they have a magistrates' warrant - but this method is rare and only used as a last resort.


source: http://www.direct.gov.uk/en/MoneyTaxAndBenefits/ManagingDebt/DebtsAndArrears/DG_10034289


Ring National Debt Line if you absolutely have too used bailiffadviceonline but be aware a phone call to them from a BT ladnline will cost you around 60p per minute, from a monile a LOT more, you can submit a question via email but even that costs you a £10 but then you do get access to all the template letters they have online.


There mst be something the court can do, I would turn up in person demand to see someone in charge and take proof of your benefits with you, the problem you have is that you have missed the oppurtunity to pay over installments but if you have no money what do they expect?? I would go back to the court and put your case forward otherwise the only other option is to come up with the money from somewhere easier said than done I know

UnderPressure

fatbelly wrote: »

If you can pm Herbie21 she can give you free access, I think.

PM box is full and there is no way to contact her via the website without paying a tenner..................

fatbelly

astraea wrote: »

Hi
spoke to the court who said they cant help me. that they cannot take a fine back from a bailiff.
what are the rules cause the court said they can use a locksmith to break entry?

From bailiffadviceonline:

Can the bailiff force entry into my home?

If the bailiff is pursuing you for an unpaid fine of a criminal nature…then the answer unfortunately, is... yes. However, this is more of a threat and during the past year it would appear that bailiffs forced entry into a property to enforce a Distress Warrant on less that 10 occasions.

The right for bailiffs acting on behalf of the Magistrates Court the power to “enter and search any premises” for the purpose of executing a Warrant of Distress was granted under Paragraph 3 of Schedule 4A of the Magistrates Courts Act 2004. This provision was also then inserted into the Domestic Violence, Crime and Victims Act 2004.

The right to force entry however only applies to the collection of unpaid fines which are criminal matters.

It is important to note that these rules do not apply to the collection of unpaid council tax, business rates, unpaid parking and congestion charge notices, CSA arrears etc. The rules only apply to unpaid fines administered in the Magistrates Court.

DarkConvict

Yes they can force entry, and as Herbie21 put online it is a last resort.

So in reality if you have made or attempted to make arrangements to pay I do not see that they will do this, force entry is for those who do not want to pay. I would write to them via recorded delivery so you know that they have it.

I would contest the £200 charges, the charges have to be for real costs incurred. This is why for council tax they are limited to £42.50 for 1 visit and 2 letters.

They can charge say £200 for a van visit, but they have to be coming with an intention to remove goods, they can't just drive by in a van.
Whilst herbie does cost 60p a minute i would give her a call as there is alot of wrong information been given on bailiffs.